This is really, really fascinating. On the one hand, it was the right thing to do- so maybe that's why he did it and I'm just incurably cynical.

But on the other hand... he praised the president pretty effusively while discouraging any thoughts of Mitt Romney or the campaign. I wonder if Romney pissed him off behind the scenes, or if he just sees the writing on the wall already.

Christie's done what, three or four interviews today praising the President's personal response? He's even giving little humanizing details, like letting people know the President was on the phone with him at midnight and gave him a personal number so he could get in touch easily with any more requests. That's odd behavior for someone who ostensibly supports MItt Romney.

Elandriel:Or, maybe he's actually being a governor of a state instead of just a partisan Republican.

You know, I'd chalk it up to that too if the praise wasn't so effusive. He very easily could have said something more along the lines of "President Obama and Fema have been very helpful and we appreciate their efforts" and that would still have been the right thing to do.

But I mean... he gave all kinds of detail on how the President went above and beyond, mentioning late night calls so the President could personally help expedite the disaster area declaration and also talking about how the President made sure he had a personal number to reach him in case he has any other needs.

That's... above and beyond normal praise. Nice to hear, for sure. But I still wonder if maybe there's something else going on there. Maybe Romney irked him this week, or maybe like you said, he's looking out for his own reelection prospects. Or who knows, maybe he's just being a decent guy and telling the truth?

Whole thing is weird though and I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

Genevieve Marie:This is really, really fascinating. On the one hand, it was the right thing to do- so maybe that's why he did it and I'm just incurably cynical.

But on the other hand... he praised the president pretty effusively while discouraging any thoughts of Mitt Romney or the campaign. I wonder if Romney pissed him off behind the scenes, or if he just sees the writing on the wall already.

Christie's done what, three or four interviews today praising the President's personal response? He's even giving little humanizing details, like letting people know the President was on the phone with him at midnight and gave him a personal number so he could get in touch easily with any more requests. That's odd behavior for someone who ostensibly supports MItt Romney.

As I have said in other threads, there are things that transcend politics.

9/11, for instance, put many people who were solidly against Bush in Bushes corner. When shiat hits the fan we come together and we drop the Democrat/Republican/Communist/Reptilian moniker and remember that we are all American.

Genevieve Marie:Elandriel: Or, maybe he's actually being a governor of a state instead of just a partisan Republican.

You know, I'd chalk it up to that too if the praise wasn't so effusive. He very easily could have said something more along the lines of "President Obama and Fema have been very helpful and we appreciate their efforts" and that would still have been the right thing to do.

But I mean... he gave all kinds of detail on how the President went above and beyond, mentioning late night calls so the President could personally help expedite the disaster area declaration and also talking about how the President made sure he had a personal number to reach him in case he has any other needs.

That's... above and beyond normal praise. Nice to hear, for sure. But I still wonder if maybe there's something else going on there. Maybe Romney irked him this week, or maybe like you said, he's looking out for his own reelection prospects. Or who knows, maybe he's just being a decent guy and telling the truth?

Whole thing is weird though and I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

One of Christie's defining traits (speaking as somebody who's only seen him on the national news and clips on the internet, and never even been to NJ) seems to be that he doesn't know when to shut up. Apparently, that applies when he's praising somebody as well as when he's ranting.

Mr. Christie, who has bitterly criticized the president as a surrogate for GOP challenger Mitt Romney on the campaign trail, said he had been called by Mr. Obama three times Monday and was delighted by how responsive the president was to his pleas for help.

"The president has been great,'' Mr. Christie said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe.'' "The president has been all over this and he deserves great credit.''

ltdanman44:Mr. Christie, who has bitterly criticized the president as a surrogate for GOP challenger Mitt Romney on the campaign trail, said he had been called by Mr. Obama three times Monday and was delighted by how responsive the president was to his pleas for help.

"The president has been great,'' Mr. Christie said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe.'' "The president has been all over this and he deserves great credit.''

Jeb/Rubio/Jindal are going to play this on infinite loop in attack ads come March 2016.

You can get away with a lot of things in the GOP. You can be completely devoid of any fundamental core principles. You can say rape is a gift from God. You can serve your cancer stricken wife with divorce papers to run off with your mistress. You can even Freudian slip and publicly admit you hate "blah" people. The one, and perhaps only, unforgivable sin is to praise sekret mooslum black Usurper in any way.

I must admit I've got a bit of Christie Chrush at the moment. He has responded as a governor should - caring about his state and the people in it above any partisan politics. Sadly, this should be the norm but isn't.

Elandriel:He's thinking about his own upcoming re-election, I'd guess. NJ is still pretty blue, even with CC in charge, and he needs to lay groundwork to proclaim himself totes reasonable.

I'm going to hold off on that level of cynicism and stick to thinking that he honestly appreciates the federal government's help and responsiveness for now, but I have to concede that you have a point. Many members of my family have had their first kind words to say about their governor today. If this is a play, it's a smart one.

Infernalist:ltdanman44: Mr. Christie, who has bitterly criticized the president as a surrogate for GOP challenger Mitt Romney on the campaign trail, said he had been called by Mr. Obama three times Monday and was delighted by how responsive the president was to his pleas for help.

"The president has been great,'' Mr. Christie said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe.'' "The president has been all over this and he deserves great credit.''

I wonder how hard the GOP is screaming at him now...

I am somewhat curious as to the Freeper response to Governor Christie.

cman:As I have said in other threads, there are things that transcend politics.

9/11, for instance, put many people who were solidly against Bush in Bushes corner. When shiat hits the fan we come together and we drop the Democrat/Republican/Communist/Reptilian moniker and remember that we are all American.

In general, yes. In practice, we have people so hateful and partisan they'll use anything, even a tragedy.

thurstonxhowell:Elandriel: He's thinking about his own upcoming re-election, I'd guess. NJ is still pretty blue, even with CC in charge, and he needs to lay groundwork to proclaim himself totes reasonable.

I'm going to hold off on that level of cynicism and stick to thinking that he honestly appreciates the federal government's help and responsiveness for now, but I have to concede that you have a point. Many members of my family have had their first kind words to say about their governor today. If this is a play, it's a smart one.

How sincere is it? It's impossible to say.

Maybe he's honestly appreciative of the President's efforts.

And if it's a ploy, then it's a devastatingly revealing ploy: He's basically saying that he's willing to buck the GOP's standard line of "Obama=Bad!" in order to gain support among his constituents.

Christie is more concerned about getting re-elected than helping Romney. Know how the GOP is always pushing the idea that every person is an island, and you're all on your own? It applies to their own, as well.

HeartBurnKid:One of Christie's defining traits (speaking as somebody who's only seen him on the national news and clips on the internet, and never even been to NJ) seems to be that he doesn't know when to shut up. Apparently, that applies when he's praising somebody as well as when he's ranting.

I don't like Christie, but one thing he doesn't seem to be is full of shiat. He doesn't sugar-coat messages and many of his "gaffes," much like Biden's, are when he's simply not lying.

Genevieve Marie:This is really, really fascinating. On the one hand, it was the right thing to do- so maybe that's why he did it and I'm just incurably cynical.

But on the other hand... he praised the president pretty effusively while discouraging any thoughts of Mitt Romney or the campaign. I wonder if Romney pissed him off behind the scenes, or if he just sees the writing on the wall already.

Christie's done what, three or four interviews today praising the President's personal response? He's even giving little humanizing details, like letting people know the President was on the phone with him at midnight and gave him a personal number so he could get in touch easily with any more requests. That's odd behavior for someone who ostensibly supports MItt Romney.

This doesn't seem inconsistent for him. He's always struck me as a stand-up guy, if kind of a dick. He's in a situation where anything he does is going to piss somebody off, so he is going with what he thinks is right.

Say what you want about Christie, but he's always been pretty damn straight forward, if not downright blunt. It's obvious that he cares more about the people in his state than he does about any political bullshiat going on and will not politicize this tragedy for anyone.

Does he look like the mayor from "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"? Yes, yes he does.

Genevieve Marie:But on the other hand... he praised the president pretty effusively while discouraging any thoughts of Mitt Romney or the campaign. I wonder if Romney pissed him off behind the scenes, or if he just sees the writing on the wall already.

Christie's done what, three or four interviews today praising the President's personal response? He's even giving little humanizing details, like letting people know the President was on the phone with him at midnight and gave him a personal number so he could get in touch easily with any more requests. That's odd behavior for someone who ostensibly supports MItt Romney.

He's the Republican governor of a Democratic state. There's no place you can govern Jersey from other than the center.

Christie has also been smart in keeping his distance from Romney all along; if he doesn't run in 2016 for the Presidency, it will only be because he's had a heart attack.

/he'll have no trouble getting re-elected in Jersey//If he weren't such a pushy douche, I wouldn't mind seeing him as President

bulldg4life:Genevieve Marie: This is really, really fascinating. On the one hand, it was the right thing to do- so maybe that's why he did it and I'm just incurably cynical.

He can't run in 2016 against an incumbent Romney.

a) It helps him for any re-election ideas in NJ2) An Obama re-election means he can run in 2016 vs 2020d) He really doesn't want to have to wait 8 years to run for president

This makes a good deal of sense. He knows that he stands a good chance in 2016 if Romney fails in 2012. If Romney wins, he'll have to wait until 2020 and I he knows that he has to strike while his star is still rising.

So, why bother supporting Romney now? I imagine his advisers have already shown him the raw numbers and the likelihood of Obama's re-election. Why not get in good with his voters while palling up with the President for a couple of years?

Genevieve Marie:This is really, really fascinating. On the one hand, it was the right thing to do- so maybe that's why he did it and I'm just incurably cynical.

But on the other hand... he praised the president pretty effusively while discouraging any thoughts of Mitt Romney or the campaign. I wonder if Romney pissed him off behind the scenes, or if he just sees the writing on the wall already.

Christie's done what, three or four interviews today praising the President's personal response? He's even giving little humanizing details, like letting people know the President was on the phone with him at midnight and gave him a personal number so he could get in touch easily with any more requests. That's odd behavior for someone who ostensibly supports MItt Romney.

Well, if Romney does win the soonest Christie could run for President would be 2020 and he'd be facing a sitting VP that would likely be running for President.

If Romney loses, here's a lot of video for 2016 of Christie being a "people before politics guy" and saying nice things about the outgoing President. Wingnuts aren't going to bag on him about it in the Primaries because Christie can respond with, "That was in the middle of a crisis in which the lives of people in my state were at risk. What in the fark exactly have you been doing with YOUR time the past 10 years Mr. Santorum."